Utah governor warns Biden against ‘weaponizing’ democracy and political discourse

EXCLUSIVE — Gov. Spencer Cox (R-UT) is encouraging President Joe Biden to take the personal out of his appeal to the country to put politics aside for the sake of democracy and political institutions.

Cox, chairman of the National Governors Association and spearheading its “Disagree Better” initiative, called on Biden not to weaponize the importance of civility in political discourse.

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“I’m grateful when they do that,” he told the Washington Examiner on Thursday of Democrats speaking out about hyperpartisanship and polarization. “But again, the way they do that is often … it’s the president saying, ‘I believe in democracy, and all these terrible Republicans hate our country and are trying to destroy us.’ That’s not the same thing, right? That’s kind of weaponizing, even.”

Instead, Cox, who welcomed Biden to his state of Utah last month, recommended a more “sympathetic and empathetic” approach, including asking why some Republicans support former President Donald Trump.

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“If the president were to do that, I think it would change,” he said. “I hope someone figures this out and does really well and that that kind of changes the political calculation.”

NGA’s Disagree Better initiative is aimed at the “exhausted majority” with the hope of creating “a permission structure” in which people can “disagree without hating each other” to, for example, close the “perception gap” between Democrats and Republicans and amplify the benefits of persuasion as opposed to base politics, according to Cox.

Earlier Thursday, Biden delivered his fourth address concerning democracy, in particular underscoring the need to protect public institutions as Trump continues to dominate the 2024 Republican primary.

“Extremists in Congress are more determined to shut down the government, to burn the place down than let the people’s business be done,” Biden said. “This MAGA threat is a threat to the brick and mortar of our democratic institutions. It’s also a threat to the character of our nation that gives our Constitution life and binds us together as Americans in common cause.”

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“We should all remember: democracies don’t have to die at the end of a rifle,” he added later. “They can die when people are silent, when they fail to stand up and condemn threats to democracy. … The soul of America depends on the soul of all Americans.”

Biden delivered his address the day after the second Republican debate and Trump’s rally in the suburbs of Detroit amid the United Auto Workers strike. But the president’s remarks also coincided with the House Oversight Committee‘s first impeachment inquiry hearing into his family’s business dealings before a likely federal government shutdown on Oct. 1.